“An Act of God No Doubt But Which One?”, 19 February 2021
Scope and Contents
The Upendra Baxi Collection is a digital collection that currently comprises a single series, Bibliography. This series is organised into several subseries, including Published Academic Articles, Published Book Chapters, Published Books, Published Book Reviews, Published Lectures and Presentations from Conferences and Seminars, Newspaper Articles, Letters and Correspondence (Mathura Rape Case), Other Media, and Media Articles by Others on the Mathura Rape Case.
Dates
- Publication: 19 February 2021
Creator
- Upendra Baxi (Author, Person)
- Sharunya (Archives Intern, Person)
- Meghashree Dev (Processing Archivist, Person)
Full Extent
From the Collection: 250 Megabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Baxi critiques the government's use of the "Act of God" (force majeure) clause to explain economic distress and its failure to meet GST obligations during the pandemic. He asks, "Which God?"—referring to the arbitrary use of theological language to hide administrative failure. The article argues that while the pandemic was a "natural calamity," the "human-made calamity" of poor planning cannot be excused. Baxi asserts that "constitutional obligations" do not cease during a crisis. He calls for "sovereign responsibility" and "fiscal federalism," arguing that the state cannot use "divine intervention" as a shield to escape its earthly duties to the citizens. In India Legal.
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the NLS Law and Society Archives Repository